Weekend

[rebness]

Spent a fabulously lazy weekend. This is A Good Thing, considering I have Barcelona with jaffacakequeen, Blackpool silliness with sc1ssors1ster and general drunkenness with hobbitfanatic packing my schedule over the next couple of weeks.

Very little was done over the weekend. Started re-reading The Catcher in the Rye after saffronlie talked about it, then chatted with her about various things including (but not limited to) ice-filled caves, plant-destruction, running from dinosaurs and Yeats' grave. I likes random people, I do.

I made a proper English roast today. Mmm. Chicken, green beans, carrots, slow-roasted potatoes and a gravy that took ages to prepare, but was worth it. It's what Autumn evenings are all about, man.

Then I thwacked me some apples off one of the trees in our garden to make the stuffing with. I swear I don't taste apples as sweet and as moreish and as natural as the ones I collect from the garden.

Looked for gooseberries, but my bloody brother had chopped the bush down. >:

A fanciful notion to go somewhere crazy for my birthday in January gripped me this weekend. ("Crazy" being "cheap Easyjet European flights" and not "OMFG! Two weeks in Cuba!" crazy.)

So now I'm off to Switzerland, which vaguely worries me. For various reasons:-

1. It's one of the European countries I know least about
2. They speak German in Basel!
3. I don't.
4. Finding reasonably priced accommodation is harder than in my original choice, Cologne.
5. I hate going to places I don't know any history about.
6. All I can think of is chocolate and clocks.
7. But the fresh air. Hmm.
8. I don't know.

But still! Switzerland. Am all excited and stuff.

Speaking of excitement, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, jadedscorpion! Yet another October birthday, but one of the best writers and funniest people I know. Have a great day.

Ooh. I have cornetto.

Comments

[saffronlie.livejournal.com]

I'm not a random person. YOU are.

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Flibble flabble. :p

[ozfille]

How come you can have these great holidays away? Have you robbed a bank, Switzerland, then Barcelona. Or is that there are cut-throat air line prices between the UK and Europe. Turning slowly green with envy!

[rebness.livejournal.com]

There's fierce rivalry between European airlines. England alone is served by dozens of European and American carriers.

Most flights are pretty reasonable... but Easyjet (whom I usually fly with) and the annoying Ryanair offer flights at very low prices. They're no frills, but hey-- with Switzerland and Barcelona, who cares?

Muhahahaa.

[ozfille]

One thing about Switzerland, you can stay in one place and still see a lot of it.

Schaffhausen - the Rhine Falls and St Gallen - beautiful monastery and its library founded by Irish monks would be not that far to the east.

Zurich & Berne are quite close too, though are rather much like every other big city other than the historical centres.

Haven't stayed in Basle so can't make any suggestions about cheap (if it's available)accommodation.

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Karen, I'm not joking-- it has taken me four days to find accommodation for anything approaching a reasonable price. Most of the hotels were already booked up for January, mainly because Basle is a European business district or some such annoyance.

However, I found a beautiful old hotel that we're going to stay in, for something like £29 a night. Better than nothing.

I can't wait to see Switzerland. Basle is just so strange, you know? You have the Rhine and the Black Forest flanking you, Alsace-Lorraine on the French side, and the Germanic-Swiss culture. Cannot wait!

Oh, I meant to thank you for the link to the Catalan site, by the way-- it made for very interesting reading. ;-)

[jaffacakequeen.livejournal.com]

switzerland!!!! you can go skiing! eat horrible cheese, buy dangerous but useful knives and gorge on toberlone! i am sure the country is also famous for, another useless royal family, very clean streets, fantastic scenery and fantastic high tax, amazing cottages, Heidi and last but not least Cuckoo clocks! i mean who wants to a bloody bird popping out of a clock! how scary is that? speaking of birds... yesterday scary moment a pidgeon flew past me and the wings touched my forehead... heart palpatations ! hate manchester! ewww bet they dont have pidgeons in Switzerland its too clean.

anyway are you visitng me before Barcelona missus? Cat wants you to come down in a couple of weeks if your free? :-) say YES! as Cat is escaping back to mine in 2 weeks.. i could do with a donnie darko directors cut moment! have you seen it and is it worth investing in?

[jaffacakequeen.livejournal.com]

forgot to mention speaking of jake, Cat and I spend Saturday night watchign Bubble Boy! absolutely riveted. it was very silly, but funny as hell on a bottle of wine

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Eww. Cheese. Have totally gone off cheese. Well, except for Brie. And Edam. And Camembert. And Roule. Okay, have not totally gone off cheese at all, but hmm.

At my hotel, they do SNAILS. (Cue villainous laugh) Muhahaha.

The hotel is really cool! It took me until 2am this morning to find a reasonably-priced hotel (i.e. under a gazillion quid) but I did. It was built in 1290 or something crazy like that. Hee.

For once, I have to agree with you on your bird-hating ways. I hate cuckoo clocks. We used to have one. I swear I was a nervous wreck at one minute past every hour. Am glad that the pigeons of Manchester finally got their own feathery backs on you, though. >:)

In further news, hell yes, am up for Manchester in a couple of weeks. I have the director’s cut of Donnie Darko. It’s interesting, worth watching. Shall bring it up!

[jaffacakequeen.livejournal.com]

most excellent! bring some sparklers adn wine! its bonfire Weekend! rockets and catherine wheels!

[tsaress.livejournal.com]

I use to love gooseberries no idea why i ate them all the time haven't touched them in 10 years now.

[jadedscorpion.livejournal.com]

You remembered my birthday! *squees* That's better than...um 90% of my blood relatives. *verra happy*

Your vacation to Switzerland sounds so cool. (I never get to go anywhere interesting.) My dad's work used to give him these calendars of the countryside over there, it always looked so beautiful. You'll have to post some pictures when you get back, for those of us who never get anywhere.

[kristoferllama.livejournal.com]

SPAK, I HATE WORK!